Ten-man Ethiopia
battled hard to
claim a hard
fought draw
against Zambia in
an entertaining Group C opening
match in the
2013 Africa Cup
of Nations on
Monday. The east Africans
had goalkeeper Jemal Tessaw sent off ten
minutes before the break for a
harsh tackle and suffered more
misery by conceding a goal on the
stroke of half-time through Collins Mbesuma's well taken volley. However,Adane Girma secured an equaliser with 25 minutes to
play as the two teams shared the
spoils in a result that will leave
the Chipolopolo disappointed. The tournament defending
champions seemed to settle
quickly at the 41,000 seater
Mbombela Stadium, and instantly
curved out the first chance of
the game through Stopilla Sunzu's long range shot after two
minutes, but that failed to
trouble Ethiopia custodian Tessaw. The east Africans responded with
an attack that won a corner two
minutes later. Shimelese Bekele
took the resultant kick that was
firmly dealt with by Chipolopolo
goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene. Sunzu, who has been linked with a
move to the English Premier
League in the January transfer
window, was booked in the 10th
minute after a rash challenge on
Saladin Said as the champions upped the tempo. A defensive lapse by Zambia's
defenders on the quarter hour
mark gifted Saladin a glorious
opportunity, but the lanky
forward's flick over Mweene
bounced just over the bar. Herve Renard's charges then
had an attack of their own
courtesy of a cleverly worked
corner, but Christopher Katongo's
header failed to trouble Tessaw. Ethiopia then won a penalty
midway through the first
half after Saladin's trickery
proved too much for Chisamba
Lungu, who impeded the latter.
However, the No. 7 picked himself up and placed a tame shot that
Mweene gleefully punched back
into play to deny the Ethiopians
the opening goal. The entertaining contest was
turned upside down after
Tessaw's tackle on a goal bound
Lungu was adjudged by Gabonese
referee E. Otogo to have been
dangerous. The custodian was sent off while on a stretcher
following treatment that held the
game up for close to five minutes. In response to that decision, the
numerous Ethiopian fans in the
stadium began booing the referee
and throwing objects such as mini
flags, vuvuzelas and other small
items onto the pitch. The official was forced to wait for the fans
to calm down before clearing the
outskirts of the pitch and
restarting the match. This resulted in a forced
substitution with coach Sefnet
Bishaw sacrificing midfielder
Shimelese Bekele for substitute
goalkeeper Zerihun Tadele. And Zambia took full advantage of
Ethiopia playing one man less by
taking the lead on the stroke of
half time through striker Collins
Mbesuma's half volley that found
its way to the bottom corner of the net after an assist from Isaac
Chansa. Ethiopia started the second half
strongly in a bid to get back into
the game but failed to find a way
past Mweene. An incisive 1-2 play
inside the Zambia box, coupled
with some slack defending let Adane Girma through on goal, and
the Saint Georges striker fired a
fierce low shot that found its way
into the near post with Mweene
well beaten. The setback forced Zambia into
an array of attacks but Ethiopia
held their nerve, and the tiring
Mbesuma was cautioned for diving
with 23 minutes to play. Herve Renard's charges created
the final two opportunities in the
duel, with Mbesuma's powerful
shot forcing an acrobatic save
from Tadele, while Emmanuel
Mayuka evaded his marker and managed a cross that flew inches
above the off colour Katongo's
head.